Floating oil-recovery sump

ABSTRACT

A floating vessel comprising a hull having an upper end lying above the surface of a body of water and an open lower end lying below the water surface to admit and accumulate upward flowing oil or gas from an underwater well.

' United States Patent Jose Dominguez Rego 600 Broad St., Newark, NJ. 07102 831,959

June 10, 1969 Aug. 17, 1971 [72] Inventor [21] Appl. No.

[22] Filed [45] Patented [54] FLOATING OIL-RECOVERY SUMP 3 Claims, 4 Drawing Figs.

[52] U.S. Cl. 114/0 51 [51] Int. Cl B63b 35/00 [50] Field ofSearch ..1l4/0.5,0.5

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,859,322 5/1932 Wilson 114/0.5 T 3,327,667 6/1967 Manning 1 14/05 T FOREIGN PATENTS 1,231,036 4/1960 France 114/05 T Primary ExaminerTrygve M. Blix ABSTRACT: A floating vessel comprising a hull having an upper end lying above the surface of a body of water and an open lower end lying below the water surface to admit and accumulate upward flowing oil or gas from an underwater well.

- FLOATING OIL-RECOVERY SUMP BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 7 The invention relates to a floating vessel for the recovery and accumulation of oil or gas from an underwater well.

'At present, the recovery of fuel, such .as oil or gas, from an underwater producing well requires .the installation of a system of pipes and valves to carry the fuel to the shore for 0 be operated, the present limiting depth being within the continental shelf at less than 350 feet. A floating vessel made in accordancewith this invention eliminates the present piping system for the recovery and accumulation of fuel from an underwater well, thereby making it possible to operate such wells at any depth. Moreover, the vessel does away with the present expensive, cumbersome, offshore, stationary drilling platform. The vessel is constructed and arranged to recover and accumulate the fuel at the surface of the water as the fuel rises from the well through the water. Consequently, a simple drilling rig carried on a barge, or the like, can be used to drill wellholes only, as many as required, anywhere and at any depth, said barge being moved from place to place upon completion of the drilling'of a producing well.

' Further, at present there is no practical means for the recovery of oil or gas. escaping from an underwater well. As a result, the escaping fut l is wasted. When oil escaps from such w l p a s o e he sur ac o t wa e b it an cean or a lake, r y tamina ing the sh re. amaging pro ert causing destruction of waterfowland marine life and endangering human life. in consequence, offshore drilling has met with strong opposition from individuals and governing bodies,

. and is subject to numerous regulations, limitations, prohibitions and penalties. The recovery and storage of escaping oil,

in accordance with this invention, eliminates the danger of a such catastrophes and makes offshore drilling a safe, economical and acceptable operation. I

Stillfurther, the transport of fuel over water now requires expensive tankers. The floating vessel of this invention serves not only to recover and accumulate fuel from underwater wells, but also can serve as an overwater transport. Additionally, the vessel provides a commercially practical means for the desirable storage ofthe fuel over water.

SUMMARY or THE INVENTION The fuel-recovery and accumulation vessel comprises a tubular member provided with pontoons or the like to retain the member afloat in an upright position with the upper portion thereof extending above the surface of the water. The open bottom of the tubular member lies below the water surface to the waterand property damage.

An obiectof this invention is the provision of an economical, floating arrangementfor the storage ofoilpn the surface of a body of water.

An object of this, invention isthe provision of a novel vessel for overwater transporting offuel, particularly oil.

'The above-stated and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from-the following description when taken with the accompanying drawings. It will be understood, however, thatthe drawings are for purposes ofillustration and are notto b ,onstrucd as defining the scope or limits of the invention, reference being has for the latter purpose to the claims appended hereto.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings wherein like reference characters denote like parts in the several views:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of a recovery vessel made in accordance with one embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevational view thereof and showing the vessel afloat;

FIG. 3 is a top plan of a recovery vessel made in accordance with another embodiment of this invention; and

FIG. 4 is a side elevational view thereof and showing the vessel afloat.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there is shown a vessel comprising a tubular member 1, preferably made of metal, and having pontoons 2 attached thereto to provide buoyancy and to maintain the tubular member afloat in the upright position. Suitable propulsion means 3, together with steering means, may be attached directly to the tubular member, thereby to move the vessel to a desired location. Alternatively, the vessel may be towed to the desired location. When used for the recovery and accumulation of oil, the tubular member is open at both ends.

To recover oil floating to the surface of a body of water from an underwater well, the vessel is positioned so that the spout of the upward flowing oil lies within the tubular member. The oil flows upwardly through the tubular member, accumulates on the surface of the water confined within said member, and displaces the underlying water. Since oil is lighter than water, a greater volume of oil is required to displace an equivalent weight of water. As a result, the oil rises above the level of the water on which the vessels floats, as the oil displaces the water. However, the rate at which the level of the oil rises is lower than the rate of water displacement. The

oil remains inside the tubular member and does not leak out as long as some water remains in the tubular member. In practice, the vessel is so constructed and arranged that the tubular member stands an appropriate height above the surface of the body of water, thereby to accumulate a desired volume of oil. As the oil accumulates within the tubular member, it can be pumped into a tanker or barge for transportation. To prevent waterfowl from landing on the accumulated oil, the upper end of the tubular member may be covered with a wire netting.

The vessel shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is particularly adapted for use in a body of water where wave action and water currents may be present. The upper end of the tubular member 10 is curled inwardly to form an integral, internal circular pontoon 11. Alternatively, a separate, circular pontoon may be welded to the upper end of the tubular member. Such construction minimizes the force and stress exerted on the tubular member by waves, said waves washing over the convex end and into the tubular member. In order to provide greater stability to the vessel, under wave and/or current action, the tubular member has an inverted truncated conical wall terminating in a flared,'open bottom portion 12. Upon relative displacement of the tubular member and the oil spout, the latter will strikethe inner surface of the flared portion 12, thereby displacing the tubular member to retain the oil spout within it A plurality of openings 13 are formed in the wall of the tubular member as a safeguard against overloading the vessel with oil and upsetting its stability, excess oil leaking out through such openings.

A further advantage of a vessel having this configuration is the fact that since the buoyant member is inside the vessel it is subject to the buoyant force of whatever liquid is enclosed within the vessel, that is, the vessel load. Because of this fact, asthe oil rises inside the vessel above the level of the water,

the vessel rises with it, thereby preventing the oil from overflowing. Therefore, the upper portion of. the vessel can be designed to stand very low above the water surface when the vessel is empty.

Once the vessel has been positioned over the oil spout, the force of the oil spreading on the surface of the water, enclosed within the tubular member, positions the vessel so that the oil spout is positioned substantially at the center of said member. Thereafter, an external force exerted on any point of the tubular member will tend to be counteracted by the force of the spreading oil. The reason for this action is due to the fact that the external force tends toupset the normal concentric relation between the tubular member and the oil spout, thereby bringing one point on the tubular member closer to the axis of the axis of the spout where the force of the spreading oil is the greatest. The diametrically opposed point on the tubular member lies further from the axis of the spout where the force of the spreading oil is the lowest. This upsets the normally balanced radial forces exerted on the tubular member by the spreading oil, whereby these forces become unstable, varying circumferentially from maximum to minimum magnitude between the two diametrically opposed points on the tubular member. Because of the normal tendency of the force of spreading oil to for a concentric status, which causes the spreading oil to oppose and tend to balance any external force or tendency to set up an unstable eccentric configuration, the vessel is, effectively, anchored in place over the oil spout. Furthermore, this factor, together with the estimated flow rate of the oil spout, permits the determination of the optimum size of the tubular member for a particular oil-recovery operation, and its construction to withstand predetermined wind velocity, wave action and water currents.

When the vessel is to be used for overwater storage of oil,

Having now described the invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is set forth in the following:

1. A waterborne vessel comprising,

a. a tubular member having both an open bottom and an open top, the lower portion of the tubular member being flared outwardly and the upper portion of the tubular member having an inverted conical configuration, and

b. floating means carried by the tubular member said floating means retaining the tubular member in an upright position with a portion thereof extending above the water surface.

2. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the upper end of the tubular member is curled inwardly and constitutes the floating means.

3. The invention as recited in claim 1, including propulsion means carried by the vessel. 

1. A waterborne vessel comprising, a. a tubular member having both an open bottom and an open top, the lower portion of the tubular member being flared outwardly and the upper portion of the tubular member having an inverted conical configuration, and b. floating means carried by the tubular member said floating means retaining the tubular member in an upright position with a portion thereof extending above the water surface.
 2. The invention as recited in claim 1, wherein the upper end of the tubular member is curled inwardly and constitutes the floating means.
 3. The invention as recited in claim 1, including propulsion means carried by the vessel. 